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BlackBerry offers iPhone customers up to $600 to switch phones

Financial Post

Published: November 25, 2014 - 3:08 PM

Updated: November 25, 2014 - 3:39 PM

Armina Ligaya

BlackBerry Ltd.’s offer to pay iPhone users as much as $600 to switch to its Passport device could either be a strategy to boost sales — and in turn pique corporate interest in its mobile software — or is a reflection of tepid demand for the Waterloo, Ont-based company’s gadgets in North America, according to Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um.

“We believe the truth may lie somewhere in the middle,” Mr. Um said in a note to clients.

BlackBerry said on Monday that starting in December, users of iPhone 4S, 5, 5C and 6 who want to convert to the square-screened keyboard device can get as much as $400 back (depending on the phone’s condition), plus an additional $200 in the form of a Visa pre-paid card.

The holiday promotion is available until Feb. 13 in North America.

Mr. Um said in the note he doesn’t believe the deal will have a major impact, as “promotions do not necessarily drive incremental demand… The promotion is unlikely to impact the guidance of profits sometime in FY 2016.”

The technology company launched the BlackBerry Passport in September, aimed at appealing to corporate customers with its large-screen and keyboard.

It will release another model, the BlackBerry Classic, which is a new take on its popular older keyboard smartphones, on Dec. 17.

BlackBerry is in the midst of a turnaround plan that has involved CEO John Chen scaling back the size of the company while refocusing its priorities on corporate clients, rather than the consumer market.